Breaking Barriers San Diego

Last registered on December 27, 2021

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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title

Breaking Barriers San Diego

RCT ID

AEARCTR-0004686

Initial registration date

September 09, 2019

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published

September 10, 2019, 9:03 AM EDT

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Last updated

December 27, 2021, 12:04 PM EST

Last updated is the most recent time when changes to the trial's registration were published.

Locations

Country

United States of America

Region

Primary Investigator

Name

Charles Michalopoulos

Affiliation

Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name

Megan Millenky

PI Affiliation

Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status

On going

Start date

2016-01-25

End date

2022-02-28

Keywords

Labor

Additional Keywords

Job placement, employment services, supported employment

JEL code(s)

Secondary IDs

Prior work

This trial is based on or builds upon one or more prior RCTs.

Abstract

This analysis, part of a broader study called Building Evidence on Employment Strategies (BEES), is an extension of the Breaking Barriers San Diego evaluation. Breaking Barriers is a San Diego-based program that provided employment services to low-income individuals with a range of disabilities and conditions, using the Individual Placement and Support approach. The program operated in four locations in San Diego county from January 2016 through June 2018. MDRC used a randomized controlled trial to evaluate the program. Between January 2016 and early November 2017, individuals eligible for and interested in receiving Breaking Barriers services were assigned at random to a treatment group, which was offered Breaking Barriers services, or to a control group, which was referred to other publicly available supports. A total of 1,061 individuals enrolled in the study. The initial analysis used data collected through a 15-month follow-up survey administered to the study sample. The main outcomes to be measured as part of the study extension include number of quarters employed and total earnings in the two years following random assignment.

External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation

Michalopoulos, Charles and Megan Millenky. 2021. "Breaking Barriers San Diego." AEA RCT Registry. December 27. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.4686-2.0

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Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)

Intervention Start Date

2016-01-25

Intervention End Date

2018-06-30

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)

Primary outcome variables include the number of quarters employment and total earnings in the two years following random assignment. Secondary outcome variables include quarterly employment rates, yearly employment rates, quarterly earnings, and yearly earnings over the two years following random assignment.

Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Measures will be constructed using administrative records from the National Directory of New Hires.

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)

Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

The study includes one treatment group and one control group. The treatment group was offered services through Breaking Barriers, including career counseling, job search assistance, personalized benefits counseling, supportive services, and follow-along services. The control group was not offered Breaking Barriers services, though members had access to other publicly available supports.

Experimental Design Details

Randomization Method

Randomization was done by a web-based MDRC system, which was accessed electronically by Breaking Barriers program staff.

Randomization Unit

Individual.

Was the treatment clustered?

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters

1,061 individuals.

Sample size: planned number of observations

1,061 individuals.

Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms

There are 528 individuals in the treatment group, and 533 individuals in the control group.

Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)

An analysis of minimum detectable effects found that the study will be able to detect an impact of approximately 6 to 7 percentage points on employment, assuming a 16 to 25 percent employment rate for the control group (based on MDRC’s FAST study), a two-tailed test with 80 percent power, covariates that accounted for zero percent of the variation, and a significance level of 10 percent.

Supporting Documents and Materials

IRB